Early version. A short first pass; a fuller version is on the way.
Why the first reply matters
A new lead is often talking to more than one store. The first useful reply sets the tone: it answers the question, gives a reason to come in and shows that someone is paying attention. A slow or generic reply gives the shopper a reason to keep looking.
Measure before you set a target
Before you pick a target, find out where you are. Pull a few weeks of leads and note when each one arrived and when a person first replied, by hour of day and by source. The average usually hides a long tail of leads that waited hours.
Set the window by hours and by source
A target that works at 10am on a Tuesday may not work at 8pm on a Saturday. Set one window for open hours and another for after hours, and decide which sources need the fastest reply, such as a phone call or a request about a specific vehicle.
What counts as a real reply
An automatic "thanks, we got your request" email isn't a reply. A real reply comes from a person and answers what the shopper asked, whether that's availability, price or a time to visit. Measure the time to that reply, not to the autoresponder.
Staffing for Saturdays and month-end
Lead volume isn't flat. Saturdays, holidays and the last days of the month bring more leads and fewer free hands. Look at when leads actually arrive and schedule coverage to match, rather than staffing evenly across the week.
Make it visible every day
Put response time where the team sees it every day, next to their activity counts. When everyone can see how long leads are waiting, the fix usually starts on its own.